The Chant is a seven-member Finnish band based in Vantaa and Helsinki comprising Mari Jämbäck (keyboards, piano), Ilpo Paasela (vocals), Markus Forsström (bass), Kimmo Tukiainen (guitar), Roope Sivén (drums), Pekka Loponen (guitar, vocals) and Jussi Hämäläinen (guitar, vocals). This is their third album, and I think I’m going to have to go back and investigate the others as this is a highly polished affair indeed. The artwork gives a small clue as to the type of music being employed, as this is incredibly atmospheric music – and according to which reviewer you read they are either a metal band or a prog act. Me, I plump for the latter.
True, there are elements of Anathema and Katatonia in what they are doing, but not nearly as metallic as either and they have more in common with Porcupine Tree and Riverside. Did you notice in the line-up that they have three guitarists? I’m not sure what they are doing for most of the time as the guitar sound is fairly minimal, but obviously form part of the layers that comprise this mostly fairly depressing sound. Their music is like a blanket that cocoons the listener, but providing none of the comfort that one would expect. There is little angst, and little overt emotion, yet the end result is compelling and intriguing. If I was going to pick a fault with the album is that the songs do somewhat tend to run into each other and by the end of it you won’t remember any of the tunes or lyrics. But all in all this is an interesting piece of work and if you enjoy the genre or any of the bands mentioned above then go to http://www.thechant.net to find out more.
